Contradictory: Musician Bob Geldof Criticises Claim That Olympics Are ‘Climate Positive’

Irish musician Bob Geldof addresses members of the media inside Dublin City Hall, in Dublin, Ireland on Nov. 13, 2017. Paul Faith/AFP via Getty Images

Irish singer and political activist Bob Geldof has questioned claims that the 2032 Olympic Games will be “climate positive” and green.

“I take the point that you’ve still got to extract minerals to get to a green policy: it seems odd and contradictory, but there you go,” he said in an interview with Queensland State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on the new radio station Disrupt Radio.

He was sceptical of the need for organisers to build new infrastructure, saying it would, in fact, use up more of the planet’s resources.

“The point is there has been only two Olympics that have made money—Barcelona and Los Angeles, as far as I can remember,” he said.

A general view is seen as "BNE 2032" is displayed on a building during the announcement of the host city for the 2032 Olympic Games, watched via live feed in Tokyo, at the Brisbane Olympic Live Site in Brisbane, Australia, on July 21, 2021 Albert Perez/Getty Images

“How did they make money? Of course, nobody else bid for the LA Olympics, so they didn’t have to do anything. They just said: ‘We have everything here. We’re not going to do much else. And by that time, TV rights, of course, were worth a lot of money,” he added.

“Why can’t you just utilise what’s there?” Mr. Geldof asked of the Queensland premier.

“Say to the International Olympic Committee: This is our bid. We’re just using what’s here. We’ve got stadiums. They’re not the best. They’re not swish architecture. But we’re going to have the best athletes—they’re going to stay with Mrs. Meggins in 5 Acacia Ave. And if they don’t like it, don’t come.”

Ms. Palaszczuk stood by the decision to commit to new infrastructure, despite the original Olympic bid process emphasising that prospective hosts could use existing stadiums and facilities.

“Our Gabba [stadium] needs to be rebuilt,” she told Geldof. “It’s actually reached end of life.”

The city of Brisbane in Australia won the bid to host the 2032 Olympics only after no other hosts stepped forward to compete and after the International Olympic Committee lowered its requirements.

From 2032, the Olympic Games can be hosted by a region and not just one city (which is the current arrangement with the 2024 and 2028 games), and are allowed to use existing infrastructure and not build new ones—all supposed to lower the costs for taxpayers.

Yet organisers for the Olympic Games have still committed to major infrastructure building to accommodate the millions expected to flow into the city, while also embarking on major renovation projects of existing stadia.

The Brisbane Cricket Ground (or The Gabba), which is supposed to serve as the main Olympic stadium, currently seats 32,000 people and will be expanded to accommodate 50,000.

While the project was supposed to cost $1 billion (US$663 million), that number has been revised to $2.7 billion (US$1.79 billion) just 12 months later.

These costs come on top of a state government dealing with long-term debt problems and have rolled out new taxes to try to cope with spiralling public service costs.

‘Climate Positivity’ Will Result in More Mining, Construction

Meanwhile, Games organisers have committed to achieving “climate positivity” by minimising the carbon footprint of the event and “compensating more than 100 percent of residual emissions,” according to its website.

While there has been a global embrace of net zero and a concerted effort to cut carbon emissions, evidence continues to emerge that the climate change movement—supposed to be about protecting the environment—will in fact spur a massive increase in mining activity.

In fact, the process of mining certain critical minerals can leave a larger carbon footprint than regular mining.

Lithium-rich brine dries in an evaporation pond at a lithium mine in Salar de Atacama, Chile, on Aug. 24, 2022. John Moore/Getty Images

Meanwhile, CEOs at the World Mining Congress in Brisbane revealed the sheer scale of mining needed to meet global demand for critical minerals for rechargeable batteries and solar panels.

“A footprint of five percent [grade] copper, which is really the average grade that can be developed, would [cover] 31 square kilometres, which is 12 times the size of the CBD that we’re sitting in today,” said Sherry Duhe, interim CEO of Newcrest Mining.

“So imagine that’s one mine, and we need many, many, 10s or dozens of those mines to be able to meet the copper demand that’s out there,” she said. “That means we have to go deeper, we have to build bigger mines, and we have to go much, much faster than we have ever gone before.”

Duhe also revealed internal Newcrest modelling showed the average electric car needed far more mining to support it compared to conventional vehicles.

“When you look at the amount of earth we have to move to produce one [EV] car, it’s ten tonnes,” she said, noting it was “six times the total material” needed for regular cars.

“It just shows you the enormity of the problem and the challenge that we’re facing. And that’s just to electrify vehicles; that’s just one element of the electrical system.”

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